North Frisian Islands in the context of "Hindenburgdamm"

54°54′N 8°20′E / 54.900°N 8.333°E / 54.900; 8.333

Sylt (German pronunciation: [zʏlt] ; Danish: Sild; Söl'ring North Frisian: Söl) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, with a distinctively shaped shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Frisia.The northernmost island of Germany, it is known for its tourist resorts, notably Westerland, Kampen and Wenningstedt-Braderup, as well as for its 40-kilometre-long (25-mile) sandy beach. It is frequently covered by the media in connection with its exposed situation in the North Sea and its ongoing loss of land during storm tides. Since 1927, Sylt has been connected to the mainland by the Hindenburgdamm causeway. In later years, it has been a resort for the German jet set and tourists in search of occasional celebrity sightings.

The Frisian languages (/ˈfriːʒən/ FREE-zhən or /ˈfrɪziən/ FRIZ-ee-ən) are a closely related group of West Germanic languages, spoken by about 400,000 Frisian people, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the closest living language group to the Anglic languages; the two groups make up the Anglo-Frisian languages group and together with the Low German dialects these form the North Sea Germanic languages. Despite the close genetic relationship between English and Frisian, the modern languages are not mutually intelligible. Geographical and historical circumstances have caused the two languages to drift apart linguistically.

Frisian is traditionally divided into three branches often labeled distinct Frisian languages even though the dialects within each branch are not necessarily mutually intelligible. West Frisian is by far the most spoken of the three and is an official language in the Dutch province of Friesland, where it is spoken on the mainland and on two of the West Frisian Islands: Terschelling and Schiermonnikoog. It is also spoken in four villages in the Westerkwartier of the neighbouring province of Groningen. North Frisian, the second branch, is spoken in the northernmost German district of Nordfriesland in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, on the North Frisian mainland and on the North Frisian Islands of Sylt, Föhr, Amrum, and the Halligs. It is also spoken on the islands of Heligoland and Düne in the North Sea. The third Frisian branch, East Frisian, has only one remaining variant, Sater Frisian, spoken in the municipality of Saterland in the Lower Saxon district of Cloppenburg. Surrounded by bogs, the four Saterlandic villages lie just outside the borders of East Frisia, in the Oldenburg Münsterland region. In East Frisia proper, East Frisian Low Saxon is spoken today, which is not a Frisian language, but a variant of Low German/Low Saxon.

North Frisia (/ˈfriːʒə/; German: Nordfriesland; North Frisian: Nordfraschlönj; Danish: Nordfrisland; Low German: Noordfreesland) is the northernmost portion of Frisia, located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, between the rivers Eider and Wiedau. It also includes the North Frisian Islands and Heligoland. The region is traditionally inhabited by the North Frisians.

Föhr (German pronunciation: [føːɐ̯] ; Fering North Frisian: Feer; Danish: Før) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest North Sea island of Germany and a popular destination for tourists. A town and eleven distinct municipalities are located on the island. The climate is oceanic with moderate winters and relatively cool summers.

Being a settlement area already in Neolithic times, Föhr had been part of mainland North Frisia until 1362. Then the coastline was destroyed by a heavy storm flood known as Saint Marcellus's flood (Middle Low German: Grote Mandrenke, 'Great Drowning of Men') and several islands were formed, Föhr among them. The northern parts of Föhr consist of marshes while the southern parts consist of sandy geest. From the middle-ages until 1864, Föhr belonged to the Danish realm and to the Duchy of Schleswig, but was then transferred to Prussia as a result of the Second Schleswig War. Seafaring has long been the most popular trade, but farming and eventually tourism became the most important economic factors after the end of the Age of Sail. The island can be reached by a car and passenger ferry service or via an airstrip.

Amrum (German pronunciation: [ˈamʁʊm] ; Öömrang North Frisian: Oomram) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and has approximately 2,300 inhabitants.

The island is made up of a sandy core of geestland and features an extended beach all along its west coast, facing the open North Sea. The east coast borders to mudflats of the Wadden Sea. Sand dunes are a characteristic part of Amrum's landscape, resulting in a vegetation that is largely made up of heath and shrubs. The island's only forest was planted in 1948. Amrum is a refuge for many species of birds and a number of marine mammals including the grey seal and harbour porpoise.

The Halligen (German pronunciation: [ˈhalɪɡn̩] ; singular Hallig [ˈhalɪç] ) or the halliger (Danish, singular hallig) are small islands without protective dikes. They are variously pluralized in English as the Halligen, Halligs, Hallig islands, or Halligen islands. There are ten German halligen in the North Frisian Islands on Schleswig-Holstein's Wadden Sea–North Sea coast in the district of Nordfriesland and one remaining hallig at the west coast of Denmark (Langli).